In the end, it was perhaps fitting. The BUCS Super Rugby final, coming down to the final play of the game.

Considering the battles between them this season, it was only right that Exeter and Durham would serve up another relentless, breathless encounter, that left fans on the edge of their seats for the full 80 minutes.

With the match left on a knife-edge throughout, the game would eventually be settled thanks to a 77th minute Dafydd Jenkins try that was converted by Josh Barton, but that was only half of the story.

Durham proved why they had finished the regular season as table toppers, as they showed a clinical edge to put themselves 13-7 up with time ticking away, thanks to a Nick Jonas try and the boot of Will Nicholson.

Exeter though, proved to be the masters of finals rugby, as they made the most of their opportunities. With space at a premium in a tight and tense final, Exeter opened their account through a bulldozing Tom Hitchcock try, with Alec Lloyd-Seed converting, before Barton’s conversion after Jenkins had dotted down, had seen Exeter eek their way into the narrowest of leads.

The drama didn’t stop there though, as Nicholson missed a late penalty, before Exeter secured a turnover in the shadow of their own posts, to send the vocal EURFC support in attendance into raptures, as they secured the BUCS National Championship for the first time since 2016.

The sight of Keith Fleming and the rest of the coaching staff embracing at full-time, before joining the squad in celebration, will live long in the memory, as both Exeter and Durham served up a final that will go down as an all-time classic.

As the sun began to set on Sixways, the EURFC faithful turned up in their droves, to roar their side through the match.

Exeter would start the game at a rate of knots, with Tom Hitchcock and centre partner Tom Eelman looking dangerous and testing the Durham defence, but the penalty count would let the side down and allow Durham to kick their way up the field and into the Exeter 22.

The pressure was huge from the Palatinate, as Jack Reid and Paul Brown both went close, before Exeter somehow managed to hold the ball up over the line.

It only served as brief respite for EURFC though, as Durham flyhalf Will Nicholson slotted a penalty to open the scoring for the evening.

After all of EURFC’s hard work in the opening fifteen minutes, the pendulum seemed to have swung towards Durham at this point as, off a set-play, Reid wriggled through a gap in the Exeter midfield and burst through to within a metre of the Exeter line. The centre would eventually be hauled down just short of the line, before Exeter were able to wrestle Durham into touch to avert the danger.

Exeter were starting to build now though, with Archie Hosking leading the way from number 8, with a typically rumbustious charge through the heart of the Durham defence.

With the Palatinate wall creaking, Exeter drilled the ball into the corner, only for the lineout to go awry.

They wouldn’t have to wait long though for a second opportunity, as Arthur Thomas secured a turnover at the breakdown, allowing Dan John to hammer the ball back into the 22.

From there, it was as direct as Exeter have been all season, as Hitchcock received the ball off the lineout and bludgeoned his way through to barrel over under the posts, with Lloyd-Seed slotting the conversion.

Exeter were beginning to stretch their legs now, with Lloyd-Seed scything through a gap and releasing Sam Higginson to gallop free across the Sixways turf. Sadly for Exeter though, Durham were able to regroup and force the turnover.

Things took another turn for EURFC moments later, as Lloyd-Seed left the field after sustaining an injury offloading to Higginson.

Durham seemed rejuvenated heading into the final moments of the first half and, with Exeter’s discipline allowing the Palatinate to set their stall in the Exeter half, the table-toppers produced a moment of quality, as ## broke free, before releasing an inch-perfect offload out of the tackle for Nick Jonas to slide over. Nicholson converted, to give his side the narrowest of leads heading into halftime.

HALF-TIME SCORE: DURHAM UNIVERSITY 10-7 EXETER UNIVERSITY

With the sun beginning to set, it was tight and cagey at Sixways, with both sides putting in huge shots in midfield.

Attacking opportunities remained at a premium and for Exeter, any half opportunity they did have, they were unable to convert against a Palatinate wall in front of them.

After Barton had managed to release Arthur Relton down the wing, EURFC looked to build the phases in the Durham 22, only to lose the ball forward.

Durham were getting the upper hand at scrum time in these early second half minutes and, when they secured a penalty that Nicholson kicked deep into Exeter territory, the EURFC faithful in the stands may have been fearing the worst.

They needn’t have worried though, as the colossal Jenkins came up with what would prove to be one of the most important lineout steals of the season to allow Yarnell to clear long.

With that steal, momentum again swung back Exeter’s way, with Durham’s ill-discipline and the breakdown work of Toby Smith allowing Barton to kick Exeter into the Durham 22.

From there, a clever lineout play sent Armstrong through a gap, but Exeter would concede possession in the next phase up against a Durham defensive wall.

With nothing between the two sides, Exeter suffered a blow as the game entered into its last quarter, when try scorer Hitchcock was forced from the field with a serious looking injury after his leg became trapped in the Sixways synthetic turf.

Exeter though, refused to let that lose demotivate them, as they managed the game to draw a penalty and send the ball into the corner.
The lineout though, was overthrown, allowing Durham to clear, as nerves began to set in.

Whilst the first half had had flashes of attacking flair, the second period was considerably more attractional.

However, the game exploded into life heading into the final ten minutes, after Nicholson slotted his second penalty of the afternoon to increase his side’s advantage to six points.

Needing a spark to try and wrestle the victory back into their own hands, EURFC fullback John burst free down the right wing, releasing Arthur Thomas on his inside.

Exeter again lost possession just outside the Durham 22, but refused to let their heads drop, as they regained possession and drew a penalty from the Palatinate.

Sensing the opportunity, scrum-half Niall Armstrong took quickly, weaving up towards the Durham try line.

Durham were struggling to realign now and conceded yet another penalty, with Hosking carrying hard up towards the line.

Exeter were surging forwards in waves now, as they searched for the chink in the Durham defence.

It eventually came, as Jenkins spotted a soft defensive shoulder and crashed over, with just five minutes left on the clock.

In the cauldron of the Sixways noise, the pressure was on fly half Barton to put his side into the lead from the tee.

The fly half has made a name for himself this season with his running game, but when his side needed it most, he was on song from the tee to edge them into the narrowest of leads, with time ticking away.

Durham though refused to give in and having regained possession from the lineout, they won a penalty, to allow Nicholson the opportunity to edge his side back into a match winning position.

To Exeter’s relief, the kick drifted left of the posts but there was still time left on the clock.

If Exeter were going to win the title, it was going to have to be the hard way, and that task became even harder when John saw yellow for a deliberate knock-on with the clock in the red.

Nicholson found touch in the Exeter 22 and his side then put faith in their pack, ignoring the opportunity for a drop goal, as they slowly edged towards the Exeter try line.

With nearly four minutes of overtime played, Durham were just two metres out from the Exeter line, only for Marijn Huis to infringe at the breakdown, sparking wild scenes of celebration on the pitch and in the stands.

With Barton tapping the ball and booting it as far into the stands as he could, the outpouring of emotion was there for all to see, as EURFC ended six years of hurt, to make sure their name will again be etched onto the BUCS National Championship trophy.

This was a final that will go down in university rugby history, with the two best sides in the country battling it out until the bitter end in a pulsating encounter.

For Exeter, the play-off demons have finally been banished, as the celebrations went on well into the night.

Director of Rugby Keith Fleming said at full-time that university was all about making memories and, for those graduating at the end of this academic year, this was the perfect end to their time in the green and white hoops.